Do you remember the days of vernacular?Police officers have been banned from speaking in mother tongue at their places of work. The directive is from the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali.In a communiquÈ to police units, he also warned the officers against discuss politics, especially the December elections, at their work places. Cont.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

People who complain that Barack Obama lacks experience must be unaware of his legislative achievements. Cont.

A win for Obama is a win for all Americans:“Sometimes freshmen can be more in touch with what people are thinking,” Hart said. “There is plenty of evidence that the longer people are in Washington, the less responsive they become.” Cont.

Obama works hard for Americans. Click the bills below to get a feel on why Obama will work harder for you than any other elected official.

S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen Obama, Barack [IL]

S.692 : A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a Hospital Quality Report Card Initiative to report on health care quality in Veterans Affairs hospitals.Sponsor: Sen Obama, Barack [IL]

Monday, February 18, 2008

Tufanye nini?There is no soccer in Kenya, but upumbavu plentyful. We have to get rid of all thugs in suits. You already have a job, a good salary and free tickets to many international events, but you are still greeeedy.

From BBC: Saturday, 16 February 2008,Fifa has handed long bans to three Kenyan officials from taking part in any football related activity because of bribery. Cont.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

KIRUBI, Charlesin partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degreeMaster of Science

The findings reveal that access to electricity, in combination withsimultaneous access to markets and other infrastructure (roads, communication,schools, etc), have contributed to robust growth of microenterprises in clear andcompelling ways. For instance, productivity per worker and gross revenues perday increased by the order of over 200% for both carpentry and tailoringmicroenterprises.

The findings reveal that access to electricity, in combination withsimultaneous access to markets and other infrastructure (roads, communication,schools, etc), have contributed to robust growth of microenterprises in clear andcompelling ways. For instance, productivity per worker and gross revenues perday increased by the order of over 200% for both carpentry and tailoringmicroenterprises.

For the past three decades, the government has made efforts to reduce landlessness in various parts of Kenya.

Lake Kenyatta Settlement Scheme in Mpeketoni division, Lamu district, is one of the many settlement schemes initiated by the government under the then President Kenyatta.

An estimated 40,000 people live in this coastal area. Most of them are from the Kikuyu community. They have lived here for more than 30 years on a temporary basis. The government brought landless people from different parts of the country in 1972 following tribal clashes in Rift Valley and Mzee Kenyatta's turudi mashambani appeal.

Others are former employees of the Cotton Board of Kenya that had a big plantation in the area. They were left helpless after the board collapsed.

The settlers had 20 acres of land, which was later reduced to 10 owing to population pressure. They had an agreement with the Ministry of Lands and Settlement to pay Sh5,090 loaned to them at 6.5 per cent interest a year, a condition they could not meet due to lack of a government cash box at the division level.

It is alleged that corruption has interfered with loan payments, leading to some people losing large sums of money and others seeking assistance from the headquarters in Nairobi. Grace Gitu sought help from the headquarters but still receives letters requiring land rent payment even after acquiring a title deed.

Many farmers cannot trace their title deeds owing to lack of funds. This is worsened by poor market for their produce.

Illiteracy, poverty and poor communication has made Lake Kenyatta Settlement Scheme a haven for corrupt government officials.

Farmer Stephen Ng'ang'a Kariara says his land bill was Sh14,000 on December 2, 1999. He paid the money and received a letter certifying that he had cleared the bill. When he went to enquire about his title deed on October 1, 2000, he received another bill for Sh9,131, which he hesitated to pay and went back home. Three years later, the debt has increased to Sh10,375.44. He has never gone back to the local lands office.

When we visited the Land Adjudication and Settlement offices in Mpeketoni, we met officials Patrick Mbatia and Ngokonyo, who refused to comment. They hurriedly left on a government motorbike, leaving the office wide open.

On the other hand, lack of unity among the settlers led to collapse of the Lake Kenyatta Farmers Co-operative Society, which could have improved their marketing procedures.

GTZ has been a good donor, helping to construct roads, schools and the Lakwa water project.

Kariara is a land surveyor, but he lost his job after GTZ completed its operations in Mpeketoni. His plot bordered a forest that was later subdivided and allocated to other settlers. These are currently fighting with wild animals that threaten to destroy their crops.

Mpeketoni is a good example of well-utilised agricultural land. It breaks the continuous idle land that stretch from Malindi to Lamu.

About 90 per cent of Lamu District residents do not have title deeds or letters of allotment to the land they occupy, an NGO official has said.

The district has an estimated population of 120,000, living in Lamu West and East constituencies.

The programme officer of the Mazingira Institute-Operation Firimbi in Lamu, Mr Omar Shahbal said only 3,000 inhabitants of Shella and Lamu town hold titles to their land.

Another 30 per cent of the squatters living in the four settlement schemes in the west mainland possess plain letter of offers or allotments.

Mr Shahbal, who is involved in land issues on behalf the residents, is part of a group of people who have filed a number of court cases seeking nullification of irregular land allocations in the region.

A survey by the NGO shows that 60 per cent of land is in the hands of senior district civil servants, politicians and Kanu officials. They own most of the land at Manda, Ras Kitau, Kiwayuu and in the settlement schemes at Witu, Hindi and Magogoni.

Most residents who mainly comprise the Bajuni community are regarded as squatters as they do not hold title deeds to their land.

The acquisition of the plots by a few well-connected individuals is due to their inclusion in the district plots allocation committee and political patronage.

The acquisition of the plots is usually followed by quick sale for fear of losing the allocation in the event of the beneficiary falling out of favour with the establishment.

Eighty per cent of the land in the district remains crown land and residents are opposed to its status changing to trust land as it would become easier for the politically-correct people to acquire the land illegally.

In Shella village, a tourist resort town south of Lamu, there are more than 300 indigenous residents whose land and residential plots, cemeteries, boreholes and playfields have been allocated to civic leaders and MPs through the district plots allocation committee.

Over the years, over 3,600 acres of prime beach land in Manda Island has been allocated to Kanu officials.

The trend started with the acquisition of an eight-acre plot owned by Mr Mohamed Abubakar bin Ibrahim Muhoma, a local farmer who has lived at Manda for over 60 years.

The plot was later sold to a prominent Mombasa entrepreneur.

Between 1992 and 1998, a local civic leader is said to have acquired 54 plots at Manda, while a former Lamu East MP used his influence to get 17 plots.

Another former MP from Lamu West is said to have acquired 34 plots in Manda, Lamu, Pate, Faza, Siu, Kiwayuu, Mkokoni, Shella and Kiunga divisions.

At least 70 per cent of the land has been illegally acquired by local leaders.

The people considered the rightful owners of land at Manda are some 1,600 indigenous Bajuni residents who remain landless and are squatters.

In October, 1983, a Kenya Gazette notice ordered the District Commissioner to ensure that the Bajuni's displaced by banditry attacks were issued with land ownership forms to enable them seek compensation.

The government directive raised hope among the Bajuni people that they would claim their ancestral land. They also hoped that this would later be followed by the issuance of certificates and title deeds by the Ministry of Lands and Settlement.

However, the Bajuni representatives say the prime land and beach plots were allocated to outsiders, senior government officials and politicians, ignoring the community.

Over 30,00 acres of land have been allocated to various connected individuals in Mpeketoni, Faza, Kiunga, Mnazi Mmoja and Witu.

Last year, Lamu residents went to court over the allocation of a part of the exotic island of Manda to a German investor.

In the suit presented before High Court judge Andrew Hayanga, the group protested against a decision by the Commissioner of Lands and the Lamu County Council to allocate the land to the foreigner.

In June last year, the then District Commissioner, Mr Daudi Ekuam, said the government would spend Sh50 million to settle people in the newly-created Hindi-Magogoni settlement scheme.

The DC added that the government had used Sh321 million since 1991 to settle landless people in settlement schemes.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

The murderous tribal violence that has spread through Kenya in recent days would be horrifying anywhere. It is particularly tragic to see this happening in a country that seemed finally to be on the path to a democratic and economically sound future. There may still be a chance to retrieve some of these hopes. That will likely require stepping back from the suspicious and hastily declared election results that sparked this ugly upheaval.

Officially, those results gave a second term to President Mwai Kibaki, despite independent reports of egregious irregularities. Even the chairman of Kenya’s national election commission now says that he was pressured into an early declaration and cannot say who won.

Mr. Kibaki should renounce that official declaration and the embarassingly swift swearing in that followed. He should then meet with his principal challenger, Raila Odinga, to discuss a possible vote recount, election re-run or other reasonable compromise.

Mr. Kibaki should renounce that official declaration and the embarassingly swift swearing in that followed. He should then meet with his principal challenger, Raila Odinga, to discuss a possible vote recount, election re-run or other reasonable compromise.

That isn’t likely to happen without outside prodding. Urgent mediation by the leader of the African Union, John Kufuor, could help bring the two together before the violence gets worse. Already, more than 300 Kenyans are dead, 70,000 have been driven from their homes and thousands have fled to neighboring countries.

How different things seemed five years ago. Then Mr. Kibaki, allied with Mr. Odinga, was the democratic reformer challenging Kenya’s longtime autocratic leader Daniel arap Moi and his handpicked candidate. Mr. Moi’s reign was repressive and notoriously corrupt. International donors grew wary and despite having some of the best agricultural land, the most attractive tourist destinations and the best urban infrastructure in East Africa, Kenya’s economy stagnated.

Mr. Kibaki promised change and won in what was the freest election Kenya has ever known. Since then, he has delivered on many of his promises. Corruption is still a serious problem, but Kenya has enjoyed an expansion of free primary and secondary education, vibrant growth and important reforms of the judiciary, civil service and economy. Now, Mr. Kibaki’s apparent attempt to rig his own re-election has put these gains at grave risk.

Tribal resentments have long played a role in Kenyan politics. They flared anew after Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga fell out over the spoils of the 2002 election. Mr. Kibaki comes from the long-dominant Kikuyu group, Kenya’s largest. Mr. Odinga comes from the Luo, a smaller but politically important tribe. Much of the violence of recent days has involved these two groups. In rural Eldoret, some 50 Kikuyu were burned to death inside a church where they had sought refuge. In the vast and tribally mixed urban slums of Nairobi, rival militias have been waging open warfare.

Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga cannot ignore the chaos around them. No matter their personal ambitions and resentments, they must be brought together and pushed to come up with a solution that will calm their followers and restore Kenyans’ faith in their democratic system — before the damage becomes irreversible.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Raila and the opposition must speak up against rape. Cowards use rape as a weapon against other men, but mostly to destroy communities. Those who are in a position to stop it directly or indirectly should be held accountable. It is time men and women stand up and stop the worst crime against humanity.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

If you want information about ODM, where would you go?I keep on going to Jaluo.com and Jukwaa to get the feel of where ODM stands. I think ODM is made up of a bunch of very disconnected politicians. How can they depend on local media like, East African Standard, Nation or NTV to get there message out? With Salim Lone, one would expect more from Pentagoons.

If you do a search on ODM, you will pull the ODM-K site that included Kalonzo and nothing else. Mutua and his staff are trying and since ODM is nowhere to be seen, I think they are doing an excellent job on the web.

If I am not mistaken, ODM are not only lagging behind on the web, but they seem to be a bit parasitical.

Upto 55,000 people have been displaced in the South Rift Region. There are 20 stations in Nakuru, 24 in Molo, 11 in Kericho and 8 in Narok North and Narok South, as well as in Kipkelion and Ravine.

In Mombasa, 1,529 people have been displaced and are mainly camping in Likoni Catholic Church, Holy Ghost Cathedral, Makupa Hospital, Bomu Catholic Church. In

Busia, 3,750 people have been displaced and have settled in police stations.

In Bungoma, 9,870 people have been displaced and are mainly in Lumakanda, Bungoma town, Mumias, Kakamega and Malaba.

In Butere-Mumias, 700 people have beendisplaced and are currently camping in Mumias and Butere police posts, and Khwisero DO camp.

35,000 people have been displaced in Kericho and are camping at the Kericho D.C’s compound, Londiani and Moi Garden. However, the IDPs in Kericho have been reducing substantially as most of them are being relocated to Ikenge and Nyamira.

25,000 people have been displaced in Moroki, Waruini, Sikhondu, Kiminini, Mucharage sokoni, Kiungani, Kibagenge, Kahibora, and Bondeni.Migori is currently tense, but police are on standby. So far 700 have been displaced and are settled at Migori andRongo police stations, Sibania and Mabera D.Os office.

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About Me

Kibaki must be held responsible for the bloodshed.
ECK has no excuse, they too can be charged for complicity to commit genocide.
Those who are looking at the tribal hatred and murder might be naive to try to blame Raila, but the truth is Kibaki number 2, must be stopped by any means necessary. The signs are very clear, "A Tribal Dictatorship."
Kenyans had no problem in the last election when Kibaki, a Kikuyu ran against Uhuru, another Kikuyu.
It is time for Kikuyus to stand up and smell the chai. Kikuyus are the poorest and the most oppressed. Shoot to Kill has always been used against Kikuyus "Del Monte."
The only matatus that must go to the police station for a strip search, are the ones going to Kikuyuland.
There are more Kikuyus in prison than any other group. Kikuyus just like they rejected Uhuru and what he stood for, can reject Kibaki for trying to bring back the KANU type dictatorship. Raila and Luos should also be very careful when making statements about the election. Kenyans did not vote for Raila the Luo; Kenyans voted for Raila the ODM nominee.